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Sarah Henrietta Purser , Irish, 1848-1943

Title

A Lady Holding a Rattle

Date1885

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

41 × 31 cm

Signedlower centre: S H Purser 1885

Credit LinePurchased, 1975

Object numberNGI.4131

Inscriptionà M. Julian Sturgis, hommage respectueux. S H. Purser 1885
Exhibition HistoryA Century of Irish Painting, University College Galway, 1983

The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists in France and Belgium, 1850-1914, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 9 October - 18 November 1984; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1 February - 10 March 1985

Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015

Sarah Purser: Artist, Activist, Collector, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, 10 July 2024 - 05 January 2025

Label TextIn 1878, Sarah Purser moved to Paris to study at the Académie Julian. On her return to Dublin, she established herself as a leading portraitist. This informal study is thought to depict her friend, Mrs Sturgis. The painting is inscribed with a dedication to the sitter’s husband, the writer and lyricist, Julian Sturgis. Purser painted the picture in Paris in 1885. The pale colours, sketchy brushstrokes, and relaxed intimacy of the pose, demonstrate her awareness of developments in French art at this time.